Parents at two schools have voted overwhelmingly in favour of transforming to integrated status.
Parents with children attending Bangor Academy, Northern Ireland's largest school, and Rathmore Primary School have voted to transistion the schools to integrated status in what has been described as a significant day for pupils.
The vote at Bangor Academy, which has 1,800 pupils, saw 79.4% parents in favour of moving to integrated status, while 82.3% of parents voted in favour at Rathmore Primary School.
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Matthew Pitts, Principal of Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College, said: "This is an exciting day for Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to lead this thriving school in the next stage of its development, as an Integrated College. We are delighted that so many parents participated in the vote and for such an overwhelmingly positive result.
"The entire school community, teachers and Board of Governors look forward to working closely with The Council for Integrated Education and the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) to proceed through the process to become fully Integrated."
Julie Hardy, Principal of Rathmore Primary School, hailed the vote from parents saying that it indicates an exciting time for the school.
She said: "We are delighted with the overwhelmingly positive results of the parental ballot.
"During Rathmore’s 50th Anniversary celebrations and reflections last year, we enjoyed strong engagement and support from our whole community. While our Governors initiated the conversation about Integrated status, this positive parental vote reflects the changing needs and desire in our school community to intentionally open our doors wider to have children learning and playing side by side from Nursery to Primary 7.
"As a school with high quality teaching and learning and an inclusive ethos at our core, this result indicates an exciting future for the next 50 years in Rathmore. We will build upon our established ethos as a UNICEF Rights Respecting School and our motto ‘Caring, Learning, Excelling Together’ as we start the Transformation journey towards Integrated status in September 2025.
"We look forward to working closely with the Education Authority, The Council for Integrated Education and the Integrated Education Fund to plan and become more intentional about supporting, protecting and advancing an ethos of diversity, respect and understanding in Rathmore."
Tina Merron, Chief Executive of the Integrated Education Fund, said: “We applaud the result of both parental ballots held in Bangor which underlines just how much parents want an Integrated Education for their children in this area. These two schools will join Bangor Central Integrated Primary School and Bangor Integrated Nursery School in providing Integrated Education in the Bangor area. I commend the Board of Governors for giving their parents this opportunity.
"The results from other parental ballots held in recent years suggest that when parents are informed and engaged on the issue of Integrated status for their child’s school, then an overwhelming majority tend to vote in favour. This is most encouraging and reflects the results of many public attitude surveys held on this important issue.”
Roisin Marshall, Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Integrated Education, said: “This is a significant and exciting moment for the whole community in Bangor. The result of both votes shows the swell and growth of parental support for Integrated Education.
"I congratulate the parents on being the change they want to see within our education system. The Council for Integrated Education looks forward to hearing the stories of how the children, parents and governors have benefitted from their Integrated experience learning together, in one school, for a shared society.”
North Down Alliance representatives have expressed their joy after news was received both Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College and Rathmore Primary School voted overwhelmingly to transform to Integrated Status.
Commenting on the matter, Stephen Farry MP remarked “News parents of both Bangor Academy and Rathmore Primary School have voted in big numbers to transform the Schools to Integrated Status is a positive and progressive step towards a future where all our children are educated together.
"I would like to commend all those involved, especially the parents who have got involved, pupils, staff and visionary leadership at both educational establishments including Principal Matthew Pitts at Bangor Academy and Julie Hardy at Rathmore Primary who have secured massive mandate for transformation to Integrated Status.”
Andrew Muir MLA stated “As a member of the Board of Governors of Rathmore Primary I am overjoyed and elated to learn parents have voted by such a large margin to make the move to Integrated Status. With Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College Northern Ireland's largest school voting for integration, this sends out a strong message well beyond Bangor and is most encouraging. This is a critical step for both North Down and Northern Ireland”
Connie Egan MLA remarked “The strong level of support of transformation demonstrates the solid public support in favour of Integrated Education with two significant schools now making the move evidencing benefit of Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong’s Integrated Education Act passed last year.
"The ballot results now trigger a journey along the road towards formal transformation to Integrated Status which I will work hard to support in the time ahead as we look to a fantastic future for both schools.”
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